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| 3 | %% This page has been alphabetized. Please add new examples in the correct order. Thanks! |
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| 7 | '''Since EarnYourHappyEnding is an EndingTrope, [[Administrivia/SpoilersOff all spoilers are unmarked.]]''' |
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| 9 | ---- |
| 10 | |
| 11 | [[foldercontrol]] |
| 12 | |
| 13 | [[folder:''Final Fantasy'']] |
| 14 | * The ''[[Franchise/FinalFantasy Final Fantasy]]'' series is mostly comprised of this; after spending over forty hours of your life on average per game, it's appropriate to get a good reward. |
| 15 | ** After Zeromus is defeated in ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyIV'', not only Cecil Harvey forgives Golbez and recognizes him as his brother Theodore; [[ThePowerOfLove he marries his childhood friend Rosa Farrell]] to be crowned King and Queen of Baron, too! Even better: all surviving allies attend the wedding… except for Kain Highwind, who instead climbs Mt. Ordeals to bid farewell to his bloodstained past. |
| 16 | ** Slaying Neo Exdeath in ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyV'' [[WorldHealingWave restores the broken Crystals and returns all lands erased by the Void to the world]], without any scratches. |
| 17 | ** ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVI'' has Kefka Palazzo's final defeat and his subsequent death, as, [[TheMagicGoesAway magic ceases to exist]] [[BittersweetEnding and]] [[PyrrhicVictory all Espers die for real]] (except for Terra Branford-who survives to become fully human thanks to her love to the orphans of Mobliz); but the player characters can finally find peace and move on with their lives. |
| 18 | ** For a storyline example, ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyX'' leads directly into ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyX2''. In particular, Yuna's entire journey as a sphere hunter is so she can earn a happy ending with Tidus after he ends the first game with a HeroicSacrifice. |
| 19 | ** ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXIII'''s characters ''definitely'' earn their happy ending, after what they went through in the game to get there. Well, except Hope. Poor Hope. |
| 20 | *** On the other hand, although Hope's lost his mother, the Web Novelisation epilogue ''Final Fantasy XIII -Episode i-'' features him discovering that his father is alive. Given that said novelisation is also a lead-in to the coming sequel, ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXIII2'', it counts as canon. |
| 21 | *** ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXIII2'' averts this: not only is the downer ending canon, but if you get 100% Completion, all you really accomplish is allowing Caius to break the fourth wall and recognize your status as the player who was controlling Noel all this time. He then proceeds to tell you there was no way for you to defy fate when the canon ending was already written. However, the ending of the third installment undoes this somewhat. |
| 22 | *** WordOfGod states that ''VideoGame/LightningReturnsFinalFantasyXIII'' will contain a decisively happy ending for the trilogy. |
| 23 | *** And it does: Lightning awakens 13 Days before the world will end and she needs to save the souls of people and help the World Tree grow, so that Bhunivelze can awaken on the final day and create a new world for everyone to be reborn in. During the 13 Days, Lightning learns how terrible life has been for everyone in the last 500 years, Noel and Snow have succumbed to [[HeroicBSOD depression due to blaming themselves for Sera's death]] and Vanille is willing to sacrifice herself to cleanse the soul of the dead, so they no longer have to suffer. On the final day, it turns out that the ritual Vanille is to perform will destroy all souls, Bhunivelze's plan was for this to happen so that everyone is reincarnated into the new world as blissful puppets and Lightning has been trained to be the next Etro. Happiness comes when Lightning defies Bhunivelze and fights him, but chooses to remain behind as the new goddess of death, but is saved by admitting her own weakness to herself. Then the souls of all her friends arrives and help her in killing Bhunivelze, the thousands of Yuel's born and died over the years and in control of the Unseen Chaos take over the role of Etro, leaving Lightning and everyone to be reincarnated into a world without wars. Lightning is last seen stepping off of a train in a European landscape, saying she'll go and meet... someone. (Likely her friends or [[ShipTease Hope]], as implied by the game's scenario writer) |
| 24 | [[/folder]] |
| 25 | |
| 26 | [[folder:''The Legend of Zelda'']] |
| 27 | * ''VideoGame/ZeldaIITheAdventureOfLink'': This is the final game in the "Hero Defeated" timeline, and while the backstory is quite dark, it ends unambiguously happy: Link's descendant has defeated Ganon, his questing throughout Hyrule has sent what remains of Ganon's army into chaos and prevented them from resurrecting him, Hyrule itself is mostly at peace, and Link has overcome the dark side of himself and awoken the original Princess Zelda, who has been sleeping for centuries. |
| 28 | * ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaALinkToThePast'': Put simply, EVERYONE who was killed because of Ganon is brought back to life, and every single person you meet in the game goes on to have happy lives, even the random thief that hangs out in the forest! Justified, though, given that at the end the pure-hearted Link reaches the united Triforce and wills everything right. |
| 29 | * ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaOcarinaOfTime''. It gets pretty dark before it gets better. Link needs to brave countless battles in a bleak future ruled by Ganondorf before he can finally seal him in the sacred realm and liberate the Hylian citizens of this timeline. |
| 30 | * ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaMajorasMask'': The world is going to end in three days and only you can go back in time to prevent it from happening. All the while people around you become depressed, the five areas of Termina are in turmoil, and trying to help anyone is ultimately pointless because you have to turn back the clock eventually to stop the end of the world. All the while the Moon continues to stare down at you, scaring you and mocking your efforts at the same time. Yet despite all that, you still keep going. You struggle for the light at the end of this dark tunnel, and when you finally see the sun rise on the 4th day, you know it was all because ''you didn't give up.'' Better yet, your efforts paid off, because the good endings you managed to bring in previous timelines actually stay true in a MergedReality, regardless of whether or not you made them happen in the cycle during which you defeated the FinalBoss or not. This is a BittersweetEnding, however, as some characters, like those whose bodies form the transformation masks, are dead. Even then, however, Link is able to heal their souls and let them move on to the afterlife. |
| 31 | * The united ''[[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaOracleGames Oracle]]'' games (''Oracle of Ages'' and ''Oracle of Seasons'') have this if you complete them both on the same system. Link goes through all kinds of craziness to save the worlds of Holodrum and Labrynna from what turns out to be Ganon's psycho foster mothers, who try to sacrifice Princess Zelda to resurrect Ganon only for it to go horribly wrong. But defeating both games together leads to the eponymous Oracles living happily in the service of their goddesses, and peace is restored to Holodrum, Labrynna, ''and'' Hyrule. [[SmoochOfVictory Link even finally gets a kiss from Princess Zelda as his reward for saving her life!]] |
| 32 | [[/folder]] |
| 33 | |
| 34 | [[folder:''Mass Effect'']] |
| 35 | * ''VideoGame/MassEffect2'': To get the best possible ending, you don't actually have to go for a HundredPercentCompletion, as there is a threshold of preparedness, past which you may just wing it to the GoldenEnding. However, to maximize your chances, you have to recruit every available companion, mine a ton of metals to purchase every ship upgrade (especially the ones with no gameplay benefits), complete all Loyalty Missions before going after the Reaper IFF, then secure the loyalty of your last companion, and immediately jump through the Omega 4 relay. Once in the Collector Base, you will have to make all the right decisions based on your knowledge of your companions and the setting lore, and only then will you be treated to an ending where every crew member of the ''Normandy'', squad and otherwise, lives on to fight the Reapers in part three. |
| 36 | * ''VideoGame/MassEffect3'': within about the first 15 minutes, the first Reapers ever are detected in human space, [[CurbStompBattle effortlessly overrun all defense lines]], and forcing a general retreat of all human forces and civilians out of the cities. The situation looks just the same for the turians and the batarian species has become virtually extinct, pretty much removing all major military forces from the picture. The rest of the game deals with finding a way to destroy the Reapers, hopefully while there is still at least someone left alive. However, that last point is [[{{Precursors}} not necessarily very high on the priority list]]. |
| 37 | ** The final battle and ending of the series turn out much better should Shepard have put enough work into uniting the galaxy and gathering forces; failing to do so leads to [[CurbStompBattle your gathered forces being beaten to a pulp by the Reapers]], [[KilledOffForReal your accompanying squadmates being killed by Harbinger]], and [[BittersweetEnding the Crucible causing heavy damage throughout the galaxy]]. Doing enough work prevents damage to the galaxy when the Crucible activates save for the Mass Relays, and each option provides its own benefits for having put in the effort: |
| 38 | *** Destroy is the only option in which Shepard survives, provided you have a high Effective Military Strength. |
| 39 | *** Control has Shepard take over the Reapers, using them to rebuild and protect the galaxy. |
| 40 | *** Synthesis has Shepard sacrifice themself to convert all life to organic/synthetic hybrids, possessing the strengths of both and the weaknesses of neither. This causes the Reapers to end their cycles and assist the galaxy in rebuilding and growing. |
| 41 | ** Depending on the player's choices, the krogan cure the genophage and start to get along with the turians, the quarians regain their homeworld, the geth gain true sentience, and the rachni are given the chance to redeem themselves in the eyes of the galaxy by fighting against the Reapers. The geth/quarian resolution is the best example; it takes a fair amount of prep in this game and the previous one, arranging a good Reputation score, a couple of non-obvious, calls and killing a Destroyer-class Reaper the size of a building ''while on foot''. |
| 42 | [[/folder]] |
| 43 | |
| 44 | [[folder:''Neverwinter Nights'']] |
| 45 | * ''VideoGame/NeverwinterNights'': The city is safe, the Old Ones finally destroyed; but Aribeth is dead and the Luskan army has torn up the city beyond all recognition. |
| 46 | ** ''Shadows of Undrentide'': The eponymous floating city is destroyed along with the BigBad and her dreams of world conquest, but Drogan is dead, and the fate of your own character is uncertain, until... |
| 47 | ** ''Hordes of the Underdark'': Getting lost in Undermountain, exploring the Underdark, waging a war against the Drow, accidentally freeing Mephistopheles, one of the Archdukes of the Nine Hells, dying, saving the soul of Aribeth battling the hordes of demons and devils around the prison of the Knower of Names, and then finally returning to life to battle Mephistopheles for the fate of Toril. The epilogue afterwards gives everyone important in the story their properly deserved endings. |
| 48 | ** ''VideoGame/ADanceWithRogues'' contains a secret GoldenEnding that can be cleared by making a very specific sequence of choices across the last two chapters and then defeating a whopping company (200+) of orcs without a moment of respite. Succeeding at this means the Princess is crowned Countess of Delberg, with all the power, prestige and resources that come with it to [[SequelHook continue her fight against the Dhorn Empire]]. On top of that, she has graduated from a foot agent of the Family to a valuable ally, finally able to repay in full the kindness [[TheDon Master Nathan]] showed to her all the way back (just in case saving him and the rest of the outfit from a FateWorseThanDeath wasn't enough!). |
| 49 | ** ''VideoGame/TheBastardOfKosigan'' (at least as far as it has been translated into English) has more of a DownerEnding. |
| 50 | * ''VideoGame/NeverwinterNights2'' has a ''really'' bittersweet ending, but the expansion ''Mask of the Betrayer'' has several endings, on of which is very bright. In it you free yourself, and everyone else, of a terrible curse, destroy the perpetrator, bring peace to a tormented soul and retire back to your rebuilt hometown, with your friends and love interest if you have one. |
| 51 | [[/folder]] |
| 52 | |
| 53 | [[folder:Other games]] |
| 54 | * In ''VideoGame/NinetyNineSpirits'', two of the endings -- one [[DownerEnding Downer]], one Good-yet-[[BittersweetEnding Bittersweet]] -- are very easy to get -- depending on your actions throughout the game, you may get locked into the DownerEnding, but if you're heading for the BittersweetEnding, you can still stumble into it by making the wrong choice during the FinalBoss fight. However, the GoldenEnding, where everything that adds a bittersweet edge to the normal one gets avoided, requires you to jump through a number of hoops, including defeating 4 powerful OptionalBoss monsters, completing a sub-quest that spans most of the game's areas, and of course [[GottaCatchEmAll Catching Em All]]. Oh, and you need to have made the 'right' choice in every choice throughout the game, which can be quite a GuideDangIt -- the first choice, in particular, is counterintuitive. Mess that up, and you can go through the whole game doing everythign else right, and still get stuck with the BittersweetEnding... |
| 55 | * ''Franchise/AceAttorney'': |
| 56 | ** In ''VisualNovel/PhoenixWrightAceAttorney'', Phoenix has a very difficult first year as a lawyer. His first case he gets thrown a bone by the killer being a hilariously BadLiar, but then he has to solve his own mentor's murder by a blackmailer who has the justice system in his back pocket, gets verbally abused and prosecuted for murder by his old childhood friend, has to defend said friend against Manfred von Karma, who's the very definition of AmoralAttorney, and finally has to solve a LockedRoomMystery that went cold 15 years ago. Oh, and Manfred tasers him while he's trying to collect crucial evidence. He still manages to pull through, bring 5 separate killers to justice, and give Edgeworth the peace of mind he'd been lacking for a decade and a half. The bonus case adds having to deal with an absolute ''marathon'' of a case, a client who is desperately trying to plead guilty, and a true culprit who's a [[DirtyCop corrupt police chief]] and as such extremely hard to bring to justice. He still manages to win, free Lana from Gant's blackmail, and reconcile her with her little sister. |
| 57 | ** In the last trial of ''Justice for All'', Maya is kidnapped, and Phoenix is given the SadisticChoice of getting his client (who actually ''is'' guilty, for a change) off the hook, or having Maya be killed by her kidnapper. As Gumshoe, Mia, Edgeworth, and even Franziska scramble to find some way to catch the kidnapper and save Maya, Phoenix finds himself having to either abandon his ideals and pin an innocent woman with the crime, or let Maya be killed. All the while, his reputation plumets as the audience of the courtroom has no clue why he continues to defend a man who's obviously guilty. At the very end though, thanks to last-minute evidence scrounged up, he's able to get the kidnapper to release Maya and turn on his client. |
| 58 | ** In ''VisualNovel/ApolloJusticeAceAttorney'', Phoenix is disbarred, framed for using forged evidence, and reduced to playing poker at a restaurant to make a living. He spends several years quietly investigating the truth behind the case he lost, putting all the pieces together. And by the end, the truth is revealed, he's proven innocent of forging evidence, and is able to retake the bar exam and become a lawyer again. |
| 59 | ** In ''[[VisualNovel/PhoenixWrightAceAttorneyDualDestinies Dual Destinies]]'', the legal system is in the middle of the Dark Age of the Law, where prosecutor and lawyer alike seek victory at any legal cost and trust in the legal system is at an all time low. And the catalyst for the Dark Age, Phoenix's disbarment and Simon Blackquill's incarceration for the murder of Athena's mother. While the former was dealt with in the previous game, the later is still very much a problem. And that's not even getting into what happens in the game: A courtroom was bombed right at the begining of the game (though it happens later chronologically). The victim of the forth case was Apollo's friend, and Athena gets accused of his murder, causing Apollo a conflict of loyalties, Blackquill is just one day from his execution by the day of of the final case, and getting him acquitted will only get Athena convicted of the murder of her own mother. While Trucy is held hostage at the Space Museum with several others, and the kidnapper is Blackquill's older sister who's desperately trying to save him. In the end, both Athena and Blackquill are proven innocent, Trucy is safe and the real culprit is bought to justice, with the Wright Anything Agency intact and ready to put an end to the Dark Age of the Law. |
| 60 | * ''[[VideoGame/AdvancedVariableGeo Advanced V.G.]]'': Done literally by Satomi, who enters the VG Tournament to win the prize money she needs [[HealthcareMotivation to pay for her kid brother's medical treatment.]] If you unlock her alternate ending, she succeeds and Daisuke makes a full recovery. They're last seen having a day out at the park to celebrate. |
| 61 | * The ending for ''[[VideoGame/NintendoWars Advance Wars: Days of Ruin]]'' is hopeful, light and upbeat in a DarkerAndEdgier game set AfterTheEnd. You just have to go through [[ThatOneBoss Sunrise]] to get it. |
| 62 | * The DirectorsCut version of ''VideoGame/AfraidOfMonsters'' has four endings. The first three are {{Downer Ending}}s that are each more bleak than the last, and the final, happy (albeit bittersweet) ending can only be achieved by first seeing the first three endings, as well as solving a game long puzzle. |
| 63 | * After decades of fighting and suffering, each ''VideoGame/AgarestSenki'' game will get to a point where the player will be able to get either a BittersweetEnding, a DownerEnding, or the happier GoldenEnding. It should be noted that just unlocking the route itself is already a GuideDangIt, and beating it will require several really hard fights. |
| 64 | * ''VideoGame/AmericanMcGeesAlice'': |
| 65 | ** Alice has to battle the Red Queen and kill her in her [[EldritchAbomination true form]] so she can regain her sanity. |
| 66 | ** Even moreso in ''VideoGame/AliceMadnessReturns'', where after yet another JourneyToTheCenterOfTheMind, this time to rediscover her memories, Alice confronts Dr. Angus Bumby, the man responsible for burning down her house and the cause of all her grief, and exacts some brutal justice all at the (arguable) cost of her perception of reality. [[RealityWarper Assuming it's just her perception that's changed.]] |
| 67 | * In ''VideoGame/AmericanMcGeesGrimm'', Grimm seems to be a believer in this. A main reason of his hatred for LighterAndSofter Fairy Tales other than being SickeninglySweet is the fact that he believes that none of the protagonists truly deserve the happy endings since they're all either TooDumbToLive or because he sees them as {{Karma Houdini}}s. He [[{{Grimmification}} Grimmifies]] the stories so that the hypocrisy becomes much more clear or that the characters get a more "proper" ending (which in some cases allows female protagonists who go through plenty of crap like Cinderella or Mulan a chance at brutal revenge). |
| 68 | * The ''VideoGame/ArcTheLad'' series tells 4,000 years of struggle and [[PlayerPunch tragedies]], no less than five teams of semi-godly fighters powered by the local gods, and three near or complete collapses of civilization before the [[EldritchAbomination Eldritch]] BigBad bites the dust. |
| 69 | * ''VideoGame/ArTonelicoMelodyOfElemia'': |
| 70 | ** The game does this in two ways: the game has multiple endings, in some of which you can redeem the BigBad instead of killing it off; Also, in the visual novel-like adventure within the "soulsphere" of Lady Shurelia, which plays like a MagicalGirl TV show, you get a surprising BittersweetEnding, unless you go back again- then you find out that it was actually due to tampering by the Big Bad itself, and you get the chance to earn a happy ending instead. |
| 71 | ** Of course, in [[VideoGame/ArTonelicoIIMelodyOfMetafalica the second game]] you find out that it was actually SHURELIA who tampered with the story to make it have a happy ending, not Mir/Jakuri tampering with it to give it a DownerEnding. In fact the only reason Mir interfered in the first place was because she was pissed that Shurelia [[SeriousBusiness tampered with her story]]. |
| 72 | * Ezio Auditore of ''VideoGame/AssassinsCreedII'' fame spent most of his life fighting the Templars as an Assassin, but lived to retire peacefully, find love again, and raise a family. And after one last adventure aiding a fellow Assassin in "Embers", he dies peacefully. |
| 73 | * ''VideoGame/AsurasWrath'': it's taken him 12,500 years. [[{{Determinator}} He's been killed four times over]], [[EscapedFromHell and came back angrier every time]]. He's watched innocents die, held his dying wife in his hands, and seen his daughter cry. He's had to destroy fleets of space ships, battle planet-sized cyborgs and charge down into the heart of the planet to destroy the monster nesting there. He watched his best friend die, in order to empower him. And he's had to go toe-to-toe with '''''{{God}} [[GodIsEvil himself]]''''', and punched the shit out of that asshole. But ''dammit'', Asura rescued his daughter and won his happy ending. |
| 74 | * In ''VideoGame/BackToTheFutureTheGame'', Emmet "Doc" Brown is declared legally dead after the events of ''Film/BackToTheFuturePartIII'', and his assets are seized and auctioned off by the bank in 1986. Edna Strickland starts off as a [[{{Spinster}} bitter]] CrazyCatLady who hates dogs, the Doc's. Einstein in particular, hoards old newspapers, and [[MoralGuardians shouts from her window the moral failings of the townspeople using her megaphone.]] Biff Tannen's personality is very much like that from the end of ''Film/BackToTheFuture1.'' As the story progresses with [[SetRightWhatOnceWentWrong Marty and the Doc going back in time to fix the timeline]], [[TheDon Biff's father]] becomes the head of a powerful crime syndicate that has terrorized the [=McFly=] family for decades. Later, in the past, Edna Strickland marries "the Doc" and uses his genius intellect to create a "perfect" society where [[LongList "hooliganism"]] [[PoliticalOvercorrectness is outlawed]] as well as [[ArsonMurderAndJaywalking dogs,]] and [[BigBrotherIsWatching the rules are strictly enforced.]] Later, after Edna unintentionally goes back in time, she destroys the fledgeling Hill Valley by accident, [[RetGone erasing the town from existence.]] Once everything [[CloseEnoughTimeline goes back to normal]] Doc is again married to Clara and returns to the garage sale he's holding in 1986, Edna now loves dogs and has mellowed out considerably, and is now HappilyMarried to Biff's father, a [[ReformedCriminal former rum-runner and speakeasy operator.]] |
| 75 | * ''Franchise/BaldursGate'': |
| 76 | ** The series leans heavily towards this, though the vagaries of being a somewhat open-ended RPG with a great deal of choice as to the nature of the protagonist keep it from being blatant. That said, the player does go to hell. Twice. Among other things. |
| 77 | ** ''VideoGame/BaldursGateIII'' continues the tradition, as getting the GoldenEnding for your party members takes a good deal of work and sacrifice, with even some of the most positive outcomes having bittersweet undertones. For the Dark Urge PlayerCharacter, they must reject Bhaal and choose to become an AntiAntichrist, dying in the process (but they get better). Lae'zel ensures her RightfulKingReturns (after going ToHellAndBack) and helps lead her people through a CivilWar to a better future. Shadowheart manages to be accepted in a new religion that's more in-line with her personality and get reunited with her parents, but forever have [[GodOfEvil Shar]] tormenting her at her leisure. Astarion manages to hold onto what little humanity he has left, in exchange for continuing to never enjoy the sunlight again. Wyll manages to free himself of his DealWithTheDevil and win back the respect of his father, who's [[YourDaysAreNumbered fated to die by his patron's hands in the near future]]. Karlach manages to cheat death, at the cost of losing her humanity and becoming a mind flayer (which grows on her rather quickly). Halsin manages to free his childhood friend and achieve his life's work of saving the Shadow-Cursed Lands from their titular curse. |
| 78 | *** The game's fifth patch adds a brief PlayableEpilogue that offers more possible happy endings for your companions, even some that make the bittersweet undertones of other endings more sweet. Convincing Karlach to return to Avernus by having Tav and[=/=]or Wyll join her reveals that they uncovered schematics of an Infernal Engine that could be used to stabilize her Engine, potentially allowing her to leave Avernus forever. Convincing Gale to return the Crown of Karsus to Mystra reveals that she rewarded him by removing the Netherese Orb that had endangered him before, and that he found a new calling as a teacher. Astarion has overcome his grief at being unable to walk in the daylight again and can either become a custodian for liberated vampire spawn in the Underdark or an AntiHero adventurer in his own right. |
| 79 | * ''VideoGame/TheBardsTale'': |
| 80 | ** Subverted in the best ending for [[AntiHero The Bard]], which is to side with the Demon Queen and kill the HeroAntagonist leader of the Druids, upon which you and Caleigh end with a HappilyEverAfter over a ruined world and to the utter disgust of the Narrator, whereas the good ending for ''everyone else in the world'' has the Bard side with the Druids and kill the demonic princess, but then he ends up in the exact same position he was in at the beginning (completely broke and having to con people for a living). |
| 81 | ** One end of ''VideoGame/TheBardsTale'' is when The Bard TakesAThirdOption and tells both the Demon Queen and the Druid to stuff it and leaves them arguing to go [[GoKartingWithBowser drinking with the rapping, breakdancing undead he's been fighting throughout the game.]] |
| 82 | * ''VideoGame/TheBindingOfIsaac'' is more a case of "Earn Your BittersweetEnding", but after update upon update of things getting steadily worse (with multiple endings all drilling in that Isaac is dead), ''Repentence'' includes one more, with a TrueFinalBoss fight against the Beast, the embodiment of all of Isaac's sins and negative emotions. Beat ''this'' boss, and Isaac, now purified of his self-hatred and his misdeeds, finally lets go and ascends to Heaven. |
| 83 | * Both ''VideoGame/BioShock1'' and ''VideoGame/BioShock2'' include a MultipleEndings that result as a consequence of the players actions. Killing some, or all, the Little Sisters to harvest a large amount of [[{{Mana}} Adam]] will result in an ending where [[TheHero Jack Ryan]] will use the resources in Rapture to take over the surface world in the former game, or where Elanor Lamb will take [[HeroicMime Delta's]] memories and powers to take over the surface world in the latter game. Saving all the little sisters will result in Jack and Elanor in their respective stories to take them to the surface world, and where, it is shown in the first game and heavily implied in the second one, that the Little Sisters will live long and happy lives. ''2'' features another morality branch involving Delta's choice to spare or kill several key individuals that had a hand in Delta being in his current state that determines the fate of the BigBad Sofia Lamb, where Eleanor follows Delta's example in forgiveness or ruthlessness. Save the Little Sisters (again) and you get the GoldenEnding where Eleanor takes the dying Delta's Adam so as to keep part of him within her in love. |
| 84 | * ''VideoGame/BioShockInfinite'' also has a degree of this, but in [[GoingCosmic a vastly more holistic sense than its predecessors]]: during the game's ending, it's revealed that [[BigBad Comstock]] is an AlternateUniverse version [[TomatoInTheMirror of our protagonist, Booker]], one who chose to lionize his sins, machinate our Booker into surrendering his baby daughter ([[LukeYouAreMyFather who it turns out is Elizabeth, the girl he's been trying to rescue the whole game]]), and spends the rest of his life attempting to condition said daughter to fill out an apocalyptic agenda. Once Elizabeth attains full control of her RealityWarping powers, she and Booker realize that [[RetGone they must rid Comstock's existence across all dimensions,]] but that since it all ties back to Booker, ''he must go too''... [[HeroicSacrifice a sacrifice Booker accepts]], [[TheHeroDies and so he drowns peacefully before Comstock can be "born"]]. However, TheStinger ambiguously reveals Booker waking up in his office next to his daughter's crib -- the implication is that this is a completely new reality that's been untouched by Comstock's terrible inter-dimensional crimes, implying that the sacrifice worked, the cycle is broken, and [[HopeSpringsEternal at least one Booker may have a chance at finding peace after all]]. |
| 85 | * A wonderful example of Earning your Happy ending would be in ''VideoGame/BreathOfFireDragonQuarter''. The game is so ridiculously hard that it can easily take restarting the game more than once to actually beat it (fortunately, starting over is an actual ''mechanic'' in this game). The ending, however, is well worth it. |
| 86 | * ''VideoGame/CallOfDutyBlackOpsII'', it took over 40 years of bitter fighting and some of the worst acts of shadowy actions. But David Mason can save the world and reconcile with his father while making sure the BigBad never get his wish of becoming a martyr for his cause. |
| 87 | * ''VideoGame/{{Catherine}}'': Vincent Brooks. The guy has to climb a tower in the world of nightmare, fighting a pletora of perversions of his worst fears and defeating the Dumuzid AKA the bartender and what is his result if he stays true to himself? [[HellHasNewManagement Taking over hell, becoming a powerful incubus and not only having Catherine, but a lot of succubi in his hand]], or [[HappilyMarried finally being able to marry Katherine and have a happy family]] or breaking bounds with both of them, and continue his own free way or in the remake, fall for a kind-hearted alien boy and save the world from destruction. |
| 88 | * ''VideoGame/CaveStory''. The story is dark enough, with cute [=NPCs=] dying or being transformed into monsters, and the BigBad threatening to unleash said monsters on the world (not to mention that the death count rivals Hamlet). But, by making [[GuideDangit the right choices]], it's possible to not just defeat the apparent BigBad, but to avert the BittersweetEnding by saving two main characters (who would otherwise die), preventing the island from crashing, and killing TheManBehindTheMan so this threat will never arise again. This requires the protagonist to [[BonusLevelOfHell storm Hell]], the hardest level in the game--so both the characters and the player have to earn the good ending. |
| 89 | * ''VideoGame/ChicoryAColorfulTale'': Working together, Pizza and Chicory destroy the true source of the Black Forest, the brush, with brushes of their own. Not only is the cycle of Wielders broken, but they intend to teach others how to make and use brushes of their own, thus preventing color of Picnic from fading. |
| 90 | * After all the crap Earth has endured throughout the ''VideoGame/CommandAndConquerTiberianSeries'', the campaigns of ''[[VideoGame/CommandAndConquerTiberianTwilight Tiberium Twilight]]'' actually merge into a unified ending that is this trope. And it's not earned easily. First, while not spoiling anything, tiberium has "evolved" into a new form that's not responding well to the traditional methods of control, which forces an EnemyMine situation between the two main factions. The campaign revolves around this reluctant alliance. In the end, it works. The new system keeps tiberium under control and actually turns it into an abundant energy source, so people don't have to fight over energy. Meanwhile, the infamous Kane and his Brotherhood of Nod leave the world for parts unknown, meaning Earth no longer has to live in fear of him. Oh, and TheHeroDies. And Earth's still a mess. But at least the Scrin invasion has been retconned away, humanity can look around, declare the worst is over, and actually get started cleaning up. |
| 91 | * In ''VideoGame/Cyberpunk2077'' unlocking the good endings doesn't take much effort aside from completing a few questlines, but rushing through the main story leaves you with only the {{Downer Ending}}s unlocked by default. There's also the [[GuideDangIt secret ending]] which requires high RelationshipValues with Johnny. |
| 92 | * In ''VideoGame/DarkSoulsII'', the pervasive, crushing despair that's a lynchpin of the series finally ends when you beat all three [=DLCs=]. The memory of King Vendrick imbues all three old crowns with an enchantment of a true ruler; as long as your wear one of the three crowns, you can't hollow. It's certainly not the perfect solution, but the player character has succeeded at what they, and every protagonist of every souls game has sought out; ''a cure for the curse of undeath''. This becomes a SubvertedTrope when you start a New Game Plus. The crowns lose the function unless you redo all the actions to empower them again. |
| 93 | * This is one of the reasons why the [[RedshirtArmy Imperial Guard]] ending from ''VideoGame/DawnOfWar: Soulstorm'' became so popular, the other reason being [[BadassNormal Vance Stubbs]], the IG Governor General becoming perhaps the only sympathetic character in the whole expansion. According to the narrator, after the war Stubbs managed to rebuild Kaurava into a prosperous imperial hub, a truly happy ending in [[TabletopGame/Warhammer40000 a franchise]] where such a thing is an extreme rarity. |
| 94 | * ''VideoGame/DeadSpace2''. It took [[VideoGame/DeadSpace1 one original game]], one [[VideoGame/DeadSpaceExtraction prequel]], and a [[NightmareFuel/DeadSpace1 thousand]] [[NightmareFuel/DeadSpace2 torments]], but Isaac ''finally'' received a happy ending...for now. |
| 95 | * In ''VideoGame/DemonGaze'', the PlayerCharacter finds out that he is a demon who has a human soul as an attempt to defeat the demons who wandered the land. During the story, he has to serve as TheAtoner after being responsible for the death of his mentor, Lancelorna. At end, he finds out that in order to eliminate all the demons, he has to die. (Being the demon Terra). In the end however, his human side survives (and his demon powers are kept) and stays in the inn with his LoveInterest and [[BabiesEverAfter raising a daughter together.]] |
| 96 | * In ''VideoGame/DepressionQuest'' you play as a person struggling with depression and trying to get their life back in order. If you make all the right choices (therapy, medication, etc.) you'll be able to avoid breaking up with your girlfriend and become happier overall. |
| 97 | * ''VideoGame/DiceAndTheTowerOfTheReanimatorGloriousPrincess'': The good ending can be obtained by beating the game without using a sword, though this means the player will always get the worst outcomes in strength checks. Since no Dark Ones died, this prevents the Reanimator from reviving any of her minions, allowing the cleric and knight to survive the final battle. However, the Reanimator will be enraged and fight more aggressively than in the bad ending. |
| 98 | * In ''VideoGame/DigimonSurvive'', the group's goal is to [[TrappedInAnotherWorld escape the Digital World]] with no casualties. To accomplish this requires good decision-making skills and more than one playthrough, as the survival of certain characters requires a high [[YouLoseAtZeroTrust affinity threshold that is only obtainable]] through a NewGamePlus. |
| 99 | * The best ending of ''VideoGame/{{Dishonored}}'' and [[Videogame/Dishonored2 the sequel]] can only be achieved by having a low Chaos rating and killing as few people as possible, meaning that it requires going out of your way to avoid casualties and practice restraint (especially in a game where a majority of your powers and abilities are lethal). |
| 100 | * The Escape The Room WebGame ''D's Look for Hamsters'' has two endings, one in which the [[HereWeGoAgain hamsters flee from capture]] after the player escapes, and a GoldenEnding where it involves finding the angry hamster's babies near her, with very few hints to their existence. |
| 101 | * ''Franchise/DragonQuest'': |
| 102 | ** The hero in ''VideoGame/DragonQuestV'' went to a lot of crap during his life. He saw his father dying next to him, was enslaved for 10 years, after he get married, became a father and finds out he is the king of a land, he and his wife were turned to stone for 8 years, then, he is finally reunited with his thought to be dead mother, only to see her die a few minutes later. Let's just say that he deserved to save the world and rule his land with his wife and children. |
| 103 | ** Likewise, the hero from ''VideoGame/DragonQuestVIII'' went on an adventure to find a cure for his king and princess' curses, the latter of which he has a crush. He fought the man who curses them and defeated him, only to find out that it didn't break the curse. Saw one of his friend being possesed by the staff the man hold, has to beat the real source of the evil. In addition, he finds out the truth about his origins and has to crash a wedding between the princess he loves and her disgusting fiance. In one of the endings, he succeed in marrying the princess after exploiting a loophole. |
| 104 | * ''VideoGame/{{Drakengard}}'': |
| 105 | ** ''VideoGame/Drakengard2'', [[WorldHalfEmpty surprisingly enough]], pulls this off in its third ending. After grueling fights, a lot of sacrifice, and torrents of blood having been spilled, the game ends with both the dragons and [[GodIsEvil the Gods]] fading away, and leaving mankind free to pursue their own destiny. Meaning that Nowe and Manah will get the normal lives they longed for, Eris won't have to sacrifice her future and become the new BarrierMaiden, and the world finally regains a semblance of peace. Also, a ''literal'' use of this trope since, to achieve this ending, the player must complete the game twice at the lower difficulty settings, and then finish the game in [[HarderThanHard Extreme]] difficulty. |
| 106 | ** In ''VideoGame/Drakengard3'''s ending D, they FINALLY pull off a positive BolivianArmyEnding, with the Grotesqueries destroyed before they really start to wreak havoc, at the cost of the lives of the main character and the time-traveler who made it possible, but she has at least nine sisters who are willing to deal with any more {{Diabolus Ex Machina}}s in the future. |
| 107 | %%** Subverted, the supplemental material shows that the best ending still gets screwed over. |
| 108 | * Played straight in ''[[VideoGame/DynastyWarriors Dynasty Warriors 8]]'', as the hypothetical scenarios for each kingdom ([[GoldenEnding the good endings]]) require you to fulfil a number of extra objectives before the story branches out. |
| 109 | * Just beating ''VideoGame/EldenRing'' requires killing several demigods, persevering in a land where EverythingIsTryingToKillYou in a variety of creatively horrible ways, committing a cardinal sin, and eventually killing the embodiment of the Elden Ring itself. And that's just the ''least'' of the requirements; the better endings tend to require your poor Tarnished to run off on long and difficult sidequests to get the means to remake the Elden Ring better than before. |
| 110 | ** The Age of Order ending is the easiest, as you don't have to fight any extra bosses, just progress Corhyn and Goldmask's quest and solve a puzzle that requires casting a spell with a high Intelligence requirement. If you use the resulting Mending Rune of Perfect Order to fix the Elden Ring, the Golden Order will be perfected to eliminate the flaws that led to the Shattering in the first place, and hold gods just as accountable as mortals. |
| 111 | ** The Age of Duskborn ending requires progressing Fia's questline, which includes surviving the Deeproot Depths, fighting Fia's Champions and Lichdragon Fortissax, and completing the Divine Tower of Liurnia. If you use her Mending Rune of the Death Prince, you will restore Destined Death to the Golden Order, make it so Those Who Live In Death are no longer persecuted, and quite possibly resurrect Godwyn from a horrific state of unlife. |
| 112 | ** The Age of Stars ending requires pursuing Ranni's questline, dealing with the Lake of Rot, fighting Astel, and generally running all over the map for her. And while what exactly this ending will mean is intentionally left open, it will allow mortals to choose their own fate free from the machinations of Outer Gods. |
| 113 | ** The crowning example is the Miquella's Needle quest, which can make any of the above endings sweeter by sparing Melina, who'd otherwise do a HeroicSacrifice. This one makes you follow Millicent's questline all the way to the [[BrutalBonusLevel Haligtree]], face her four sisters in battle, and then finally defeat [[{{Superboss}} Malenia, Blade of Miquella]] in order to get Miquella's Needle and [[DidYouJustScamCthulhu cheat the Frenzied Flame]]. |
| 114 | * The heroes of the ''VideoGame/{{Enigmatis}}'' trilogy do this by the end of the third game, although it comes at the price of many lives over many years. Still, the great demon Asmodai has been defeated forever and all of his disciples are dead; the archangel Raphael has been released from prison and returned to his rightful place in heaven; Fang agrees to be HappilyAdopted by the [[PlayerCharacter detective]]; and she and her partner Rick have become good friends with a sort of father-daughter attachment. CueTheSun! |
| 115 | * WesternAnimation/OswaldTheLuckyRabbit, after all the crap he went through, finally got his happy ending at the end of ''VideoGame/EpicMickey'', and he most definitely deserves one. |
| 116 | * ''VideoGame/FableIII'' handles this... interestingly. In the game's third act you become the King or Queen, and you're now on a one-year timer before an EldritchAbomination conquers your kingdom. The game expects you to have to make some tough decisions -- [[HonorBeforeReason do you keep all your promises to your subjects only to watch them die in the coming war]], [[WellIntentionedExtremist or do you oppress your people in order to raise money for an army to save your country?]] Or do you TakeAThirdOption, making all the "right" decisions and paying for the army out of your own pocket, thereby proving to your brother that you're the leader he never could be? As it turns out, [[MoneyForNothing it's super easy to raise enough money over the course of your adventures, provided you're willing to invest heavily in real estate]] (which most players want to do anyway, because it's tough to make ''any'' money in the game unless you buy up property like crazy) and putz around with sidequests for a little while as your coffers automatically fill to bursting. Earning the happy ending is therefore not the Herculean challenge that the game makes it out to be. |
| 117 | * ''VideoGame/FalloutNewVegas'' is set in a CrapsackWorld where multiple factions battle for dominance, but if you jump through enough hoops and [[TheChessmaster do a lot of careful political planning]], a [[KarmaMeter Good Karma]] NCR or (to a lesser extent) Independent Vegas ending can bring about a happy ending for just about every faction and individual in the wasteland. Or at least to the ones that deserve them. |
| 118 | * In ''VideoGame/Fallout4'', pursuing the story path with the Minutemen results in this. The Minutemen have had a rough couple of years before you strolled into the scene: their base was wiped out by a Mirelurk Queen, their general was killed, most of them ran off to be Raiders or Gunners, the few who remained were slaughtered and only one of them protecting a handful of now-homeless settlers to the last bullet survived through your intervention and sheer dumb luck. With your help, they can rebuild their strength, ally with settlements (and build some new ones), retake their base, and finally lead an assault on the Institute. With the Railroad being a non-factor (assuming you allied with them and sounded the evacuation of the Institute before you blew it up) and the Brotherhood of Steel being cowed by the show of firepower, the Minutemen become the unchallenged protectors of the people of the Commonwealth, establishing outposts, patrolling the roads and even moving into Diamond City. And all with minimum loss of innocent life. |
| 119 | * Most ''Franchise/FarCry'' games generally end with {{Bittersweet Ending}}s or {{Downer Ending}}s, depending on the player's choices. ''VideoGame/FarCryPrimal'' has an unambiguously good ending. By the end of the game, thanks to Takkar, the Wenja tribe have managed to defeat their two greatest enemies, the [[CannibalTribe Udam]] and [[{{Pyromaniac}} Izila]] tribes, and apart from [[TheBigGuy Dah]] having to undergo a MercyKill and [[CoolOldLady Jayma]] deciding to leave the village at the end of all their mission quests, all of Takkar's allies remain alive, including [[TheBeastmaster Takkar]] himself. |
| 120 | * Much like ''Franchise/SilentHill'', ''VideoGame/FatalFrame'' has the protagonists going through hell, ''almost literally'', to get to the end, but it's really up to the player to do what's necessary to unlock the Good Endings. The requirement this time is to play the games in higher difficulties. |
| 121 | * ''VideoGame/FateOfTheWorld'' really makes you work for your happy ending. Between the ApatheticCitizens, conflicts breaking out, never having enough money for your job and being a perpetual SlaveToPR, finally succeeding in your mission to save the world from GlobalWarming is ever-so-satisfying. |
| 122 | * The first half of ''VideoGame/FireEmblemGenealogyOfTheHolyWar'' ends with a ShootTheShaggyDog played absolutely straight, with the hero being betrayed by his last remaining friend, a Duke, who frames him for treason, steals his wife, gloats about the latter right to his face, and then murders him. He then has his men then slaughter the hero's army, that is, all the characters you've become attached to up to this point, appoints himself Emperor, gives his various crooked noble friends stewardship of the other countries on the continent and has them run said countries straight into the ground. Fortunately, the murdered characters left some very pissed-off kids behind (plus one survivor who happened to be elsewhere at the time), and once they come of age they get to lead a revolution, put the rightful heirs back on the thrones of the various countries, and send all the nobles, the Emperor, the [[EvilSorcerer evil bishop]] manipulating him, and the [[EldritchAbomination dark god]] manipulating ''him'' packing. Even the Emperor gets to redeem himself somewhat by freeing his daughter from the bishop's captivity, and she becomes the key to striking the dark god down. |
| 123 | * ''VideoGame/FiveNightsAtFreddys'': |
| 124 | ** After spending decades haunting animatronics, the missing children are shown in ''VideoGame/FiveNightsAtFreddys3'' to have finally seen their killer suffer a KarmicDeath and pass on. |
| 125 | ** ''VideoGame/FreddyFazbearsPizzeriaSimulator'', the GrandFinale to the series, has an even wider happy ending after all the crap everyone went through over the timeline. Every surviving animatronic is destroyed, the Puppet and Elizabeth Afton are able to pass on (while [[BigBad William Afton]] is implicitly going straight to Hell), Michael Afton (now a RevenantZombie) finally dies on his own terms, and Fazbear Entertainment goes completely out of business. Unfortunately, it receives a HappyEndingOverride. |
| 126 | ** ''VideoGame/FiveNightsAtFreddysSecurityBreach'': If Gregory manages to free Vanessa from Glitchtrap’s control, which is one of the more difficult endings to accomplish, then Gregory, Freddy, and Vanessa all survive to leave the pizzaplex behind. It ends with the three of them placidly eating ice cream together while watching the sunrise. |
| 127 | * In the campaign for ''VideoGame/TheFlameInTheFlood'', Scout and her CanineCompanion Aesop travel over forty miles on a raging river, facing predators, disease, deprivation, and increasingly cold weather to find some vestige of civilization in a post-apocalyptic world. Survive to the end, and Scout makes it to the Kingdom, an abandoned amusement park that's been converted into a thriving settlement. |
| 128 | * In ''VideoGame/GhostTrick'', Sissel is murdered, watches people he grows to care about die (some multiple times), and goes through it all without his memories. As the game progresses, he ends up trapped on a sinking submarine with two characters he's bonded with, forced to face the reality that there's ''no way to save them at all'', as far as he knows. All while it looks like he'll vanish and never find out his past. By the end of the game, he manages to save ''everybody'' (including the guy who was the villain for most of the game), regains his memories, and lives out a happy life with his friends in a new timeline. This also applies to Missile, who in the first timeline was shot and learned that his two owners were also killed, and while he got ghostly powers, he lacked the ability to save them. The only one who ''could'' help him refused to do so, forcing him to go back in time and spend ten years working on an elaborate gambit to save his mistresses. In the rest of the game, he dies twice to save Kamila, and willingly stays dead to continue to do so. He ends up living in the better timeline with Sissel, while his alternate-timeline self passes on, happy with the knowledge that he ultimately succeeded. |
| 129 | * Of all things, ''VideoGame/GodOfWar'' ends with this, in that it is revealed that deep down, Kratos was driven by hope from PandorasBox. The ending has him travelling through deep within his mind, witnessing the worst that he has done and learning to forgive himself. In one of his rare moments of selflessness, he ends up performing a HeroicSacrifice to release the power of hope back into the world... [[HappyEndingOverride At least until]] the [[Videogame/GodOfWarPS4 Norse series]] where Kratos once again gets wrapped up in trouble with gods. Even then, ''Videogame/GodOfWarRagnarok'' ends on a much more positive ending with the defeat of Odin and the fall of Asgard while the remaining realms are saved. Atreus leaves to pursue his own destiny while Kratos learns of his own destiny as a genuinely benevolent God. |
| 130 | * In ''VideoGame/GrandTheftAutoV'', the two bad endings of the game are earned after some relatively easy missions, and both result in one player character dead and the remaining two ceasing all contact. The third ending follows Franklin fighting to get Michael and Trevor to set aside their differences so they can secure their freedom by killing their enemies. It is one of the tougher missions in the game, but completing it results in the best ending where all three player characters survive, get off scot-free, and remain on good terms. |
| 131 | * In ''VideoGame/{{Guacamelee}}'', if you manage to beat the various {{Brutal Bonus Level}}s scattered throughout the game prior to defeating the final boss, Juan is rewarded with [[DamselInDistress El Presidente's Daughter surviving Calaca's ritual and the two go on to live happily ever after.]] In [[Videogame/Guacamelee2 the sequel]], doing the same thing ensures that Juan manages to make his way back to his family in (presumably) a matter of days rather than years, thus managing to be there with them as they grow up. |
| 132 | * ''VideoGame/GuiltyGear'': |
| 133 | ** In the ending of ''-STRIVE-'', the AntiHero Sol Badguy is stripped of his divine seed, the Flame of Corruption. Though he's still a Gear by the time -STRIVE-'s story ends, [[BroughtDownToBadass his strength was drastically reduced as a result, but he still retains his fighting ability]]. He fakes his own death with the help of Ky and the US Government, opens up a machine parts shop and lives there with Aria - his quest for revenge and his centuries of torment finally settled. |
| 134 | ** After years of being lost in time, [[TomatoInTheMirror learning that he's become a sentient bundle of magical energy with false memories]], seemingly [[HeroicSacrifice sacrificing his chance to go back to his own time to help Sol]] and suffering much to try and convince I-no out of her FaceHeelTurn, Axl Low the plucky time-travelling Englishman hits the KarmicJackpot. [[CanonCharacterAllAlong As it turns out]], I-no is actually an older BrokenBird version of Megumi, Axl's LostLenore from ''Missing Link'' and she herself realizes that Axl is her own disappeared boyfriend William from her timeline. Rather than use her powers to try and save herself, [[PetTheDog she switches her place as an]] Axis of Time with his timeline's version of Megumi, finally allowing the young couple to be reunited properly, never to be separated again. |
| 135 | ** After living a conflicted and tormented life as an assassin, Venom [[WhatYouAreInTheDark redeems himself by taking the more moral option when presented with a]] SadisticChoice, and ends up living a new life with Zato's help as a baker along with his RobotBuddy Robo-Ky. |
| 136 | * ''VideoGame/{{Gylt}}'' has two endings, neither of which are happy, and both of which are pretty horrible. Either Emily returns home while Sally stays behind and presumably dies, or worse, Sally leaves Emily behind to die, while apologizing and returning to school as if nothing happened, continuing to put up missing posters of Emily. Want an ending that's not horrible? Free the spirits of all the people who've been [[TakenForGranite turned to stone]], and then you'll have the chance to get an actually happy ending for both Sally and Emily. |
| 137 | * The good ending for the [=PS3=] game ''VideoGame/HeavyRain'' has this, at least for Ethan. It starts out with one of his sons tragically killed in a car accident and then the other was kidnapped. Provided that most of the characters survive, it results in the Origami Killer being defeated and Ethan moving on. |
| 138 | * ''VideoGame/{{Ico}}''. Ico has to lose everything first. There's a superb essay about it [[http://www.etc.cmu.edu/etcpress/node/269 here]]. And by the end, he and Yorda reunite on an island. |
| 139 | * In the game version of ''VideoGame/IHaveNoMouthAndIMustScream'', if the main characters manage to overcome their flaws and face their past (Gorrister dealing with his guilt about his wife, Benny being able to show compassion for others, Ellen conquering her fears, Ted proving his love for Ellen and Nimdok atoning for his Nazi Warcrimes), this initiates a LogicBomb for the mad AI, who cannot fathom [[EvilCannotComprehendGood why the humans are not complete bastards]]. The players can then proceed to take down AM and revive the human population hibernating on the Moon. |
| 140 | * ''VideoGame/IWasATeenageExocolonist'': Figuring out how to keep the colony safe and secure, much less prosperous, is a process of solving one or two problems at a time until Sol accrues enough experiences across all their lifetimes to single-handedly resolve every major issue in one triumphant lifetime. |
| 141 | * ''VideoGame/Journey2012'', since it's made to resemble TheHerosJourney. After over 1 hour of wonderful adventure, you die struggling to reach the mountain's summit blocked by an intense, extremely cold snowstorm, but get resurrected by six White Robes with a full energy scarf, and upon making it [[AscendToAHigherPlaneOfExistence become a star returning to where you were born]]. [[BookEnds And repeat]]. |
| 142 | * ''Franchise/KingdomHearts'': |
| 143 | ** The ending of the first game forces Sora, Riku, and Kairi to get through the series up to near the end of ''VideoGame/KingdomHeartsII'' (nearly 3 different video games, and technically a fourth if you count the year that Sora was sleeping and Roxas and Riku were running around) before they can joyously reunite with each other. Then they have to finish off the BigBad before they can return home. And as if that wasn't enough, Sora and Riku now have to become true Keyblade Masters and earn happy endings for ''every single good guy that's been killed or somehow similarly lost.'' |
| 144 | ** In ''VideoGame/KingdomHeartsIII'', Roxas, Xion, and Lea, and Ven, Aqua, and Terra are all FINALLY reunited with their friends after being lied to, manipulated, played against each other by Xehanort, and even dying or being sealed away. |
| 145 | * ''VideoGame/LegacyOfKain'' has some form of this, if not an actual definitive ending. After two complete games spent chasing Kain, learning about his world's history and prehistory, and moping about his fate, Raziel is eventually [[HeroicSacrifice absorbed in the Soul Reaver after having gone through multiple trials]] to enhance his soul through [[MegaManning absorbing]] Ariel, only to grant Kain the ability of seeing the Elder God, his true enemy. More like Earn your BittersweetEnding, really. |
| 146 | * In ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfHeroesTrailsOfColdSteel'' series, [[TheHero Rean's]] always had either a DownerEnding or a BittersweetEnding. Every time he tries to do something good, the games always manages to have something go horribly wrong on him every single time his game ends. It takes him four whole games ''and'' a DeusExMachina to finally give him a happy ending. Said DeusExMachina apparently involves the Grandmaster rewinding time to give Rean a chance to give him an alternative way to take out the complete version of the Great One and Ishmelga's curse and trap it in the physical plane to finally kill it for good. |
| 147 | * ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfSpyro'' series by {{Creator/Sierra}} ended its trilogy based on this trope. The world literally cracks apart after the Dark Master has seemingly won and accomplished destroying the world. But Spyro uses his powers to save the world at the last moment with Cynder at his side. All their friends are okay and Ignitus, thought dead, is now the new Chronicler. The bittersweet part is that Spyro and Cynder are apparently dead... until its revealed they miraculously survived and after all the crap they've gone through, they've earned the happy ending they both deserved after all those scenes of angst. Oh, and apparently Cynder loves Spyro so they're more then likely in love now. Only took the end of the world for the relationship to become canon. |
| 148 | * ''VideoGame/LiarJeannieInCrucifixKingdom'' has a secret ending that can be obtained by beating the [[DualBoss two Pleiades Knights]], where each member is at least as strong as the FinalBoss. Victory will result in Jeannie and Marta finding freedom outside Morte Moses, unlike the other endings where they're stuck in the kingdom forever. |
| 149 | * The true ending of ''VideoGame/LilysWell'' is gained after 10 (or more) endings involving Lily's own deaths. But it's the best one, since it involves Lily escaping the endless cycle of deaths and living a new life with someone who cares for her. |
| 150 | * ''VideoGame/LollipopChainsaw'': At the beginning, Nick had to be decapitated because he was bitten by a zombie, and was kept alive as a talking head hanging from Juliet's hip for the rest of the game. But in the final chapter, Juliet sacrifices Nick by attaching him to Swan's body and destroying Killabilly, thus saving everyone. Morikawa-Sensei, who died earlier in the game, decides to give Nick a second chance because of his sacrifice, so he brings him back to life, but with Sensei's body. Neither Nick nor Juliet mind though, because all that matters is that he has a body again. Then, Juliet's dad, who was believed to be dead, reveals himself to be alive, then he, Juliet, Nick, and Juliet's sisters all go back home to celebrate her birthday. If you rescued all saveable classmates, then we are treated to a very heartwarming after-credits scene where they all return home, and Nick gives Juliet a nice birthday present. Awwwww. |
| 151 | * The heroes of ''VideoGame/LufiaAndTheFortressOfDoom'' and ''VideoGame/LufiaTheLegendReturns'' both go through a lot for their happy endings. Embarking on epic quests, fighting four evil gods, learning that the girl they love is the reincarnation of one of those evil gods, watching their loves die in order to prevent the Sinistrals from resurrecting, and then ''eventually'' reuniting with their love interests, who have lost their memories but are no longer one with the Sinistral of Death. |
| 152 | * The GoldenEnding of ''VideoGame/LufiaCurseOfTheSinistrals'' that averts Maxim and Selan's {{Heroic Sacrifice}}s can only be obtained in NewGamePlus and requires beating [[TrueFinalBoss a new final boss]]. |
| 153 | * ''VideoGame/MaxPayne2'' has the player literally earn the happy ending. Only by beating the game on the hardest difficulty level do you see the ending where Mona Sax lives. |
| 154 | * ''VideoGame/MaxPayne3'' brings the trilogy to a satisfying close. Max is able to bring an end to the organ-harvesting ring and has managed to find peace with himself. |
| 155 | * It's heavily implied that after fighting in and surviving the hellish conflict of World War II, Jimmy Patterson and Manon of ''VideoGame/MedalOfHonor'' ended up getting married. Given the post-credits narration of ''Heroes''' and the fact that the main character of the 2010 reboot is Jimmy's grandson, it's easy to put two and two together. Doubles as a HistoricalInJoke, [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Helene_Deschamps_Adams as the two characters are based on real life people who did just this]]. |
| 156 | * ''VideoGame/MegaManZero4'' finally featured the human side of the RobotWar's story (showing the humans' perspective of the [[RidiculouslyHumanRobots Reploids]], which border on FantasticRacism). However, over the course of the game, the humans and Reploids finally learn to put aside their differences, creating true peace that lasted for almost two centuries. Subverted, since the ones who fought so hard and so long for this peace [[HeroicSacrifice gave their lives in the process]] just so the war could finally end. |
| 157 | * ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid'' has the situation getting worse and worse in the last three chronological games (''MGS'', ''2'', and ''4''), with ''[=MGS4=]'' revealing the one happy part of ''[=MGS2=]''[='s=] ending went horribly wrong shortly after. This persists right up to the very last scenes, promising DownerEnding after DownerEnding yet averting each one at the last moment for a genuinely uplifting finale. |
| 158 | ** Subverted near the end: ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolidVThePhantomPain'' and ''VideoGame/MetalGearRisingRevengeance'' prove that the world's still a horrible place and that even a happy ending doesn't mean that the main characters can turn away from what they've become, but also explain that mankind is petty because there's a whole world of science and discovery out there, and humanity isn't going to obediently sit down and stop looking for new things to do. The main characters are going to keep on torturing and killing, but also continue living in hopes of finding greater and more joyous things. Like epic cyborg battles, new futures for the poor, and aerospace package delivery. And nobody's stopping them from doing this anymore. Granted, the subversion was expected for ''Phantom Pain'' since it's a {{Prequel}} to ''VideoGame/MetalGear1''. |
| 159 | ** This is a truly bizarre but awesome example, since the series properly establishes that AnyoneCanDie, and in the end, a lot of people manage to live. |
| 160 | ** Not necessarily a completely happy ending, but the hopeful future that looms at the end is definitely heartwarming. Plus, even though Snake is going to die in a few months, Raiden reunites with his wife and goes home to be a father, Otacon will continue watching over Sunny, and Meryl gets married to Johnny. |
| 161 | * By the end of the ''VideoGame/ModernWarfare'' series, there have been countless battles waged around the world between many various factions, with millions dead on all sides, billions in damage and losses, and several nuclear weapons used, with World War III only having been stopped just short of full-on nuclear annihilation. Along the way, Task Force 141 has been disavowed, accused of treason, and had each and every single member die at some point or another, until only one remains. After the peace talks made possible by rescuing the Russian President in "Down the Rabbit Hole", which itself took the HeroicSacrifice of the Delta Force members sent to assist Price and Yuri, it's safe to say NATO and the Loyalists have certainly earned their happy ending. The final level, "Dust to Dust", is about Price earning his. |
| 162 | * Since ''VideoGame/MortalKombatDeadlyAlliance'', the universe hadn't been kind to Liu Kang. [[TheHeroDies He was killed]] by Shang Tsung and Quan Chi, then his [[CameBackWrong body was reanimated as a zombie to go on a rampage]], and time and time again fate pit him against his mentor Raiden, always resulting in his death [[FallenHero and fall to evil]]. At the end of ''VideoGame/MortalKombat11'', he gains the powers of a god and with them the chance to finally break the cycle by defeating [[BigBad Kronika. He succeeds and is tasked by a [[BroughtDownToNormal now mortal]] Raiden to sculpt a new and better timeline, with his beloved Kitana by his side.]] |
| 163 | * At the end of ''VideoGame/Mother3'', the player is personally assured that everybody is alright, and that you helped Lucas and the others save the world. To get to that point: |
| 164 | ** Lucas, Boney, and Flint lost Hinawa, and Claus went missing. [[ParentalAbandonment Flint dedicates all his time to looking for Claus]], so Lucas has to basically grow up by himself. When Claus is finally found, he's been [[MindRape mind raped]] and gets DrivenToSuicide. |
| 165 | ** Kumatora has to watch as, one by one, the people who raised her, the Magypsies, disappear, ''and she is forced to help make it happen.'' |
| 166 | ** Salsa and Samba are kidnapped and tortured by the Pigmasks. |
| 167 | ** Countless (note: sentient) creatures across the Nowhere Islands are torn limb from limb and reconstructed into Chimeras. |
| 168 | ** By the time Lucas is old enough to go out and do something about the state of the world, most of the kind happy villagers have been brainwashed and turned into major {{Jerkass}}es, Especially toward Lucas and his family. |
| 169 | * ''VideoGame/TheNewOrderLastDaysOfEurope'': |
| 170 | ** Being Russian is [[RussianGuySuffersMost really tough]], as the country has been ravaged by the Nazis and the warlords for the past twenty years. But it can overcome the rule of thuggish despots and be reunified by a [[ChummyCommies sincere Soviet democracy with fair elections with Zhukov or Bukharina]], or [[TheRepublic the fragile pluralist democracy of Tomsk or Komi]], or [[TheGoodKingdom the sensible British-style constitutional monarchy of Kemerovo or Vyatka]], or [[{{Cincinnatus}} the civilian government Sverdlovsk hands back to the people]], or even perhaps [[SaintlyChurch try out Men's benevolent free house of God that blends Christian compassion with anarchist and humanitarian principles]]. Whatever path you lead Russia onto, you can emphatically reject the horrific brutality and insanity of the Nazi-dominated world and forge it into a sensible nation. |
| 171 | ** While it's very unlikely to all happen in one game, the TNO universe can become a better place if the player chooses the best path(s) for their nation of choice. That means Germany removes all traces of the old regime and radically changes into a paternalistic yet fair democracy thanks to the machinations of [[InternalReformist the Gang of Four]], [[ChinaTakesOverTheWorld China]] puts a dent into the imperialist plans of the Japanese Co-Prosperity Sphere by becoming a rising power, the United States resists HeWhoFightsMonsters and remains a bastion of freedom and democracy, the United Kingdom throws off the shackles of the German yoke and rejoins the international community and above all else the world avoids a [[TheEndOfTheWorldAsWeKnowIt nuclear holocaust]] under the careful supervision of the OFN. |
| 172 | ** Though [[TheEndOfTheWorldAsWeKnowIt if worst does come to worst]] and the nuclear holocaust occurs, mankind's story does not end in a cataclysm of fire. While billions died and all of the world nations subsequently collapsed into anarchy, some people managed to survive, and after millennia of sorrowful reflection and tireless work rebuilding a broken world their descendants [[BookEnds return to the Moon]] in the DistantEpilogue as the heralds of an [[HumansAreGood advanced and peaceful civilization]]. These astronauts rediscover the ancient Nazi landing site and after a brief moment of confusion, take down the flag long-since bleached white by the Sun's radiation and replace it with their own, [[RuleOfSymbolism signifying the final surrender of a monstrous ideology forgotten forevermore]]. |
| 173 | * In ''VideoGame/NierAutomata'', the route to the final ending E has the following scenarios: the main characters find out that both their human creators and their enemies' alien creators are both DeadAllAlong, making their ForeverWar ultimately pointless; the entirety of the [=YoRHa=] androids become infected by [[TheCorruption the Logic Virus]] including 2B; 9S slowly [[SanitySlippage loses his sanity]] over learning how his struggle was meaningless and becomes hell-bent on destroying everyone; Pascal gets [[BreakTheCutie broken]] from seeing his entire village either get corrupted by the Logic Virus or [[DrivenToSuicide kill themselves out of fear]]; and 9S kills A2 at Ending D while also ungracefully accidentally impaling himself with A2's sword, killing him as well. Despite all of this, if you help Pod 042 beat the nightmarish MiniGameCredits after Ending D, he and Pod 153 will find A2's, 9S's, and 2B's body parts and data and put them back together to come back to life after the war has finally ended, giving them a new chance at life that's filled with far less anguish. [[BittersweetEnding Can't do much about]] reviving the rest of [=YoHRa=] or helping Pascal, but it's probably the most optimistic ending to a game that could have come from [[Creator/YokoTaro the game's creator.]] |
| 174 | * ''VideoGame/TheNightOfTheRabbit'': Jerry Hazelnut manages to get one after all his trials and tribulations. At some point he returns his home world just to find out that he had been missing for years, his home is condemned, his mother is no longer around (possibly dead) and his father has been erased from existence and from everyone's memory. Fortunately at the end he manages to get back to his own time and place with both of his parents alive and well. |
| 175 | * In ''VideoGame/{{Oddworld}} Abe's Oddysee'', if you don't save more than half your coworkers (who you don't even know you're meant to save until halfway through, and over half of whom are in secret areas), you get [[TheBadGuyWins dropped into a meat grinder at the end by the Big Bad]]. You get to see the bits go flying, too. |
| 176 | ** [[AllThereInTheManual The manual mentions that]] rescuing enough of them turns you into a god, so there is an incentive. |
| 177 | ** If you leave enough of them to die, you get the arguably ''worse'' ending of being recruited by your CorruptCorporateExecutive bosses for your rampant disregard for your coworkers and skill in getting them killed. |
| 178 | * ''VideoGame/OdinSphere'': In the bad ending, {{everybody dies|Ending}}. In the good ending, Oswald and Gwendolyn earn their happy ending together, and Cornelius and Velvet survive as Pooka. In the best ending, Cornelius and Velvet become human again. The good ending requires the player to [[NoManOfWomanBorn interpret a series of prophecies]] so that each of the five heroes fights during the Apocalypse in the correct order. Unfortunately, to get the best ending the player has to [[OneHundredPercentCompletion see every cutscene possible]]... Including the DownerEnding cutscenes that spring from messing up the correct boss fight order. This means you have to fight through the Apocalypse at least four times total in order get the best ending. ''Leifthrasir'' fixes things immensely both by allowing you to skip scenes you've already seen and allowing you to return to the attic after you've viewed what you needed, making it so that you only need to actually see the bad ending once. |
| 179 | * The ending of ''VideoGame/{{Okami}}''. Amaterasu and Waka finally get to return to the Celestial Plain, but not before Ammy's died once and had to be reincarnated in a statue, kick the ever-loving crap out of {{Orochi}} ''three'' times, make most of Nippon [[GodsNeedPrayerBadly believe in her and give her]] [[ClapYourHandsIfYouBelieve 'praise']], regain all of her [[OcarinaPlaylist Celestial Brush Techniques]] and power, create a StableTimeLoop, involving a double of dose of [[HelpYourselfInThePast Help Yourself In The Past/Future,]] do various jobs here and there, beat up several [[TheDragon dragons]] ''twice'', but more if you're Orochi and then finally destroy [[ScienceIsBad Yami, God of technology]], but not before it has stolen all of Ammy's powers, and knocked Waka out for the count, leaving Ammy literally having to ''beat'' her power out of it, and kill it for good. It's worth it. |
| 180 | * Getting the good ending in ''VideoGame/OtterIsland'' requires you to stay on the island longer, find more items and solve more puzzles. It results in all three friends [[EveryoneLives making it off the island]], with Connor getting away with some lacerations and broken bones which the doctors say will heal (he's not so lucky in the bad ending). |
| 181 | * ''VideoGame/ParasiteEve'': In order to get the [[GoldenEnding true ending]], after the completing the story normally once, "EX Mode" is unlocked and the [[BonusDungeon Chrysler Building]] becomes available to visit after the first story events. You must brave the abominations/bosses that lurk in its 70 floors of mitochondrial-evolved hell in order to face the TrueFinalBoss, then and only then is the real ending shown after defeating it. |
| 182 | * ''VideoGame/Persona5'' forces poor Joker to get framed for assault purely for doing the right thing, nearly get expelled/arrested/killed thirty more times by various corrupt adults, outwit a traitor, and punch out the ''Persona'' incarnation of the ''Demiurge'' to reach his happy ending, where he is finally exonerated and gets to go on one last road trip with his precious friends before returning home. In ''Persona 5 Royal'', your party must also go up against the counselor Dr. Maruki, and reject his decision to place the entire world into a giant LotusEaterMachine in which everyone lives out what he's analyzed as their "idealized" reality. |
| 183 | * ''VideoGame/PhantasyStarIV'' has the happy ending earned by ''every single character in the series''. We find out that Algo and its inhabitants were created ''solely'' to produce heroes meant to keep the SealedEvilInACan in its can, and that the struggle against Dark Force has gone on for thousands of years because of a flaw in the seal; Chaz loses his mentor and has a crisis of faith when he realizes that the forces of Light are just as ruthless and manipulative as the Darkness, and [[RefusalOfTheCall refuses]] to fight on its terms-- but chooses instead to fight for the sake of all the people who came before, and lived, fought, died, and were forgotten or lost in their struggle. The ending finds the heroes of the game continuing on and happily living the lives they always wanted to, and the souls of the heroes from the previous games finally being able to rest. |
| 184 | * ''VideoGame/PlanescapeTorment'' has you [[GuideDangIt jump through numerous hoops]] to get the best ending, but it's oh so worth it. Having faced down your previous incarnations and being forced to watch as [[BigBad the Transcendent One]] (aka your own mortality made sentient) butchers your party one by one, you finally confront it and convince it to give up its hopeless plan to be independent from you and rejoin with you, ending your immortality. After this, you restore your friends, bid one final farewell to them, and finally, ''finally'' die and begin your penance for the crimes of the First Incarnation. Yes, it seems bittersweet, but the Nameless One still has the knowledge that his friends are all alive, in some cases (Dak'kon, Morte) absolved of their guilt/servitude, and can leave their adventures with him better people who will likely go far. Besides, The Nameless One now has all the power and knowledge of ''all'' his [[TimeAbyss many]] incarnations, so it's not like he'll be defenseless in the battlefields of the Blood War. That, and Fall from Grace is going to search for you in the Lower Planes. |
| 185 | * ''VideoGame/PokemonSuperMysteryDungeon'' pulls this off twice. By the climax, before which the heroes witness a mountain's worth of horror, betrayal, and sacrifice to bring them to Dark Matter, everyone, including all of their friends and the Legendary Pokemon, are turned into stone, and the Tree of Life that sustains the planet is dying. It took sheer determination to continue fighting and ultimately defeat Dark Matter to revive the Tree of Life. The hero gets rewarded with saving the world by being forced to watch their partner disappear to bring back Mew to truly finish Dark Matter. The player character has to then go through two [[NintendoHard brutally hard dungeons]] to meet Mew in hopes of finding a way to bring back their best friend, only to find out that Mew doesn't even know that he's the reincarnation of the partner. The player character then has to go through another difficult dungeon to rescue Mew from kidnappers who believe that if Mew continues to live, Dark Matter would return. Refusing to say good bye to anyone again, the player character vows that they are willing to fight Dark Matter over and over again to save their new friend. This declaration of friendship just so happens to be the key to bringing back their partner back to life at the dungeon; the whole kidnapping was planned by Nuzleaf and his lackeys who want to make up for their actions under Dark Matter's control. They end up getting accepted back into Serine Village, and the reunited heroes are free to live a happy life together filled with exploration and discovery. And as for the petrified Legendaries and allies? Now alive and well and are front and center to aid the expedition team. |
| 186 | * In ''VideoGame/PokemonXAndY'', AZ created a machine to resurrect his Pokémon, then turned it into a weapon to punish the world for said Pokémon's death in the first place, which, combined with finding out the souls of numerous Pokémon were sacrificed to bring her back, caused the Pokémon to abandon him. What's more, the machine granted ''him'' immortality, and now he's forced to WalkTheEarth trying to redeem himself. After the player character saves the day, AZ challenges them to a battle, finally earning his redemption by learning what a trainer truly was. AZ's Floette reappears to reunite with AZ, bringing AZ to his knees in jubilation. |
| 187 | -->"It's been 3000 years..." |
| 188 | * ''VideoGame/RadiantHistoria'' has this. [[TheHero Stocke]] goes back and forth between the real history and the alternate history, trying to right the wrongs committed. Even the slightest mistake can result in Stock's friends' lives being ruined and at worst, entire races going at war. What's worse, even after Stock fixes most problems in the history, he will still have to sacrifice himself in the end to save the world. However, if the main character manages to fix everything which takes enormous amount of time and effort, BigBad witnesses the new history that the main character created and decides to sacrifice himself in Stock's place, allowing Stock to return to his friends. |
| 189 | * ''VideoGame/{{Rakuen}}'': The theme of the game is that although you ARE helping the people at the hospital a great deal, you can't magically solve all their problems - Kisaburo still has dementia, Tony's son is still dead, etc. Despite this theme, a few characters are able to avoid a bittersweet ending after all they've been through. The credits sequence shows that Gemma woke up from her long coma and reunited with Winston. They've been through so much, it's almost like the game just said, "Okay, fine, let them have this." Additionally, Tony is able to reconcile with his estranged daughter Christina after several years of being apart, allowing him to be involved with her life once more. |
| 190 | * In ''VideoGame/{{Rebuild}}: Gangs of Dreadville'', achieving the GoldenEnding (the only one that's not at least [[BittersweetEnding bittersweet]] and at worst a [[DownerEnding downer]]) requires completing many tasks as early as the second city. If you happen to miss any of the steps, you [[GuideDangIt won't get a chance to win in the best way possible]]. Oh, and you're not likely to know that something might be important, especially since the game is full of {{Red Herring}}s. In Wenatchee, you need to get your hands on the Agabayani research. In Pentiction, you have to help [[PlayfulHacker 1337cREw]] break into the Government database to get a data dump of European research into the zombie virus, after which you have to decode it. In Kelowna, you have to help one of your engineers research the antivenom to a zombie bite. In Abbotsford, you have to research the cure. Also, prior to Abbotsford, you have to complete the extremely time-sensitive Monkey Blood sidequest to ensure the GoldenEnding. Finally, in Vancouver, you have to use the cure and stop the Government without nuking it. |
| 191 | * In ''VideoGame/RedDeadRedemption2'', it's a ForegoneConclusion that the van der Linde gang will eventually break apart from internal strife and being continually hounded by the authorities. However the epilogue reveals that Charles, Mary-Beth, Tilly, Sadie and Orville were able to settle down and have satisfying lives afterwards. Charles moved to Canada and raised a family, Mary-Beth became a prolific author, Tilly became a successful lawyer in Saint Denis, Orville moved to New York and became a preacher, and Sadie becomes a BountyHunter and eventually decides to move to South America to pursue a more peaceful life. Also, Edith and Archie Downes if [[TheAtoner Arthur chooses to help them in the final chapters]]; they take his money and invest it to become the owners of a successful golf course. |
| 192 | * The ''VideoGame/{{Resistance}}'' trilogy. Over the course of the first two games, humanity is slowly overwhelmed by the Chimera. By the start of the third game, the Chimera look set to wipe out what's left of humanity. But once Joe Capelli destroys the wormhole the Chimera are using to freeze Earth, things start to turn around as the humans finally begin to beat back the invasion. |
| 193 | * Kyrie from ''VideoGame/SandsOfDestruction'' goes through much angst over his Destruct powers and [[PowerIncontinence the accidental carnage he causes]], [[SenselessSacrifice dies]] and is [[BackFromTheDead brought back to life]], and is forced to [[SelfMadeOrphan fight and kill]] [[LukeIAmYourFather his mother]], [[TheMaker the Creator of the world]], but is eventually able to master his powers and be with Morte in a new, better world they create together. |
| 194 | * ''VideoGame/ShadowHearts'': |
| 195 | ** The trilogy pretty much DEMANDS this in all three games, playing through normally, with no, or few, side trips, nets you the bad end. In fact the first games Bad End is established as canon in the second. However, if you put the effort in, you can and WILL Earn your Happy Ending. The second game's Good End even implies that the main character, Yuri, gets transported back in time to just shortly before the events of the first game, memories intact, meaning it's quite possible he went through those events again, and that canonically, he got his HappyEnding. |
| 196 | ** In Shadow Hearts 2, which doesn't happen if Shadow Hearts 1 has a good ending, Bacon performs the Emigre Manuscript's ceremony to raise the dead. In Shadow Hearts 3, upon seeing the Emigre Manuscript's ceremony performed, Roger comments that he's never seen it done before. Since, in Shadow Hearts 2, he does it ''himself''... it means that the only way this makes sense is that Shadow Hearts 2 never had to happen. Yuri got his happy ending in the end. |
| 197 | * If you choose the Freedom Ending in ''VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiIIINocturne'', you more or less fulfill this trope. You see your teacher end the world, [[WhatMeasureIsANonHuman deal with no longer being fully human]], see your best friends being tortured and responding to that by [[EvilMakeover twisting themselves into cruel and monstrous parodies of their character flaws]], see said teacher -- the only one who still somehow remained sympathetic -- murdered before your eyes, perhaps almost [[TheEndOfTheWorldAsWeKnowIt destroy time and all worlds]], and finish by striking down the master of the Vortex World in the name of freedom. In the end, despite everything, you end up with your friends again, your teacher's got a positive outlook on life, and even the World's Most Epic Widow's Peak gets to go around still being The World's Most Epic Widow's Peak. But you have to ''earn it''. Though the [[GodIsEvil true enemy is still out there]]. |
| 198 | ** ''VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiI'' also qualifies with its neutral ending. If you go with law, you side with the forces of heaven, who INTENTIONALLY got Japan nuked at the start of the game, and later destroy Tokyo with a flood, so you know they're bad, and [[FromBadToWorse they kill most of humanity in the law ending]]. Go with chaos, you ally with the forces of hell, who want to turn the world into a [[CrapsackWorld place of chaos and anarchy]]. Neutral ending, you defeat them all so there's no doomsday. Staying on the neutral path, however, is much more difficult then staying on law or chaos, plus you have to fight the final bosses for each side. [[SubvertedTrope Only for the Law faction to take control]] in between ''VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiI'' and ''VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiII''. Even assassinating the original hero with the heroine nowhere to be seen. |
| 199 | ** ''VideoGame/DevilSurvivor'': |
| 200 | *** The game is a bit evil with this: there's an event on Day 3 involving Haru. If you don't do it, you ''cannot'' get any ending except for [[DownerEnding Yuzu's]] because it disables the Belial fight on Day 6, thus screwing up the War of Bel, and ''making the Laplace email predict something completely different''. Not to mention, of course, that you have to fight at least one friend regardless of your ending. |
| 201 | *** Story-wise, the only way to win is to fight. ScrewThisImOuttaHere is a quick way to wreck the world, even if you can fix the mess in ''Overclocked''. On the other hand, if you do seize the Tower of Babel, you can make a difference and save the world. |
| 202 | ** In ''VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiIV'', it gets ''harder'', as there are very few Neutral choices, so if you want to go Neutral, you have to carefully balance your responses through Law and Chaos responses. To add insult to injury, the final alignment question can knock everything to pieces if you're ''too'' Neutral, as the value it adds to either side can potentially prevent you from staying in Neutral territory. But it's all WorthIt, from seeing Humanity once again unified as Isabeau leads the citizens of East Mikado to Tokyo, where their combined hopes and dreams manage to recreate the Great Spirit of Hope, and all of them cheering on for you to recover the Great Spirits of Goodwill and Spite, denying the temptation to forever retain the status quo and to bring forth a devastating revolution. But the best is finally seeing the desolated streets of Tokyo as the Firmament is removed and the sun shines upon the city for the first time in decades. The Goddess of the City thanks you as the sea rushes in and the city is truly restored after decades/millennia in the darkness, and it's then that you know humanity will indeed survive. |
| 203 | * The ''Franchise/SilentHill'' games have an incredibly literal example of this; in each of the games, there is a potential good ending, but the player has to earn it through his actions while playing the game with the exception of ''VideoGame/SilentHill3'' and Origins, which actually force a good ending on the player the first time through. But, well, the characters still literally go through Hell to get it, so... |
| 204 | * ''VideoGame/SilentHillShatteredMemories''. The monsters in the game mutate as you progress, based on the memories of your missing daughter. If you're a slowpoke, they become emaciated, and zombie-like ("I could be dead by the time daddy comes to save me. I was never very important to him."); if you're a boozer, they become diseased ("Alcohol is bad for you, daddy"), and if you're a man-whore, they become curvy and buxom, and wear high-heels ("All those women weren't mommy"). But if you make all possible haste, they become more like cranky modern-art pieces, and less disturbing ("It's going to be OK. Daddy will be here soon"). |
| 205 | * ''VideoGame/{{SOS}}'' is ''made'' of this trope. Since it's about escaping a sinking luxury cruise liner, you have to find and escort enough people as well as certain persons depending on what character you're playing as. You get one real time hour to do this. But if you can pull off an escort mission to end all escort missions, you can get the happiest ending, allowing you character and the people they care about to not only move on from the disaster but become better people. |
| 206 | * The best ending for ''VideoGame/{{Splatterhouse}} 3'' definitely counts. Rick manages to finish every level of his house in time, saving his wife and son, destroying a monster, and finally taking down the Terror Mask once and for all. After [[TragicMonster being forced to kill his girlfriend in the first game]], and then [[ToHellAndBack punching his way through the Gates of Hell]] and taking out an EldritchAbomination to [[ThePowerOfLove save her]] in the second, he damn well ''deserves'' a HappilyEverAfter life with the family he protected with everything he got. Even better: WordOfGod states that ''this'' is the canon ending for this continuity before the 2010 remake; since the original Rick would no longer get into trouble, he could enjoy his well-deserved peace. |
| 207 | * ''VideoGame/{{Stalker}}: Shadow of Chernobyl'' has one of these, about 2/3s of the way through the game you get a brief text prompt telling you to backtrack to the first map. If you don't notice this, then it is impossible to get an ending where the player survives, you never learn who or where Strelok is, and the game ends without closure of any sort. Backtracking will wrap up most of the storyline's threads kind of. Hope you were checking your journal. |
| 208 | * ''VideoGame/StarCraft'': If you follow along from the beginning with Jim Raynor until the end of the series in ''VideoGame/StarCraftII'', you'd see how much both Sarah Kerrigan and Jim Raynor suffered over and over and over. In the end, just when things seem bittersweet, it looks as if the two may get a happy ending after all |
| 209 | ** Sitting at Joey Ray's bar with his Marshall Badge and the fact that Arcturus Mengsk is dead, Amon is defeated, and the universe is at peace, it seems Jim is despondent. He is clearly unhappy that after everything, he cannot have the one thing he always wanted: a life with Kerrigan. Moments after, the door to the bar opens, and the silhouette of Kerrigan speaks, asking if he's ready to get moving. Jim smiles, and leaves his badge on the bar. He's never seen again according to the epilogue, but the possibility of the two living for eternity with one another is earning an ending if one ever was. |
| 210 | --->'''Sarah Kerrigan''': You about ready to get out of here, cowboy?\ |
| 211 | ([[{{Beat}} looks in awe at the miracle before him, then smiles)]]\ |
| 212 | '''Jim Raynor''': [[BookEnds Hell, it's about time.]] |
| 213 | ** It's also this for the Protoss. In the first game, they [[DoomedHometown lose their homeworld of Aiur to the Zerg]] and are forced to retreat to Shakuras. This gives them the opportunity to make amends with the [[DarkIsNotEvil Nerazim]] and reorganize themselves in an effort to reclaim Aiur from the Zerg. This goes awry when [[BigBad Amon corrupts the [[PsychicLink Khala]], allowing him to possess all Protoss connected to it. Only a handful of Protoss escape Aiur, and are left to stop Amon's plans from coming to fruition themselves. Not only do they succeed, but they repair some of the other rifts, such as reestablishing relations with the Tal'darim and accepting the Purifiers as equals in their society. In the end, they manage to reclaim Aiur, break Amon's grip on the Protoss connected to the Khala, and rebuild their society as a united people.]] |
| 214 | * ''Strange Flesh'': The [[GoldenEnding Boyfriend ending]] can only be obtained if you complete the game [[CheckpointStarvation without using a single save point]]. It's also the only one where Joe doesn't become the victim of a literal MindRape, and instead manages to sort out his life and sexuality, quit his SoulCrushingDeskJob in favor of his dream career in music, and enter a happy romance with his new boyfriend John. |
| 215 | * ''VideoGame/{{Strife}}'' has this for one of its endings. Emphasis on "earn", as to get the GoldenEnding requires you to both make a crucial choice kill the Oracle instead of Macil, as well as go through several levels you wouldn't have to do otherwise, increasing the total length of the game by about a third. |
| 216 | * The ''VideoGame/{{Suikoden}}'' series actually makes this into a game mechanic: the characters will suffer through all the tragedies and losses of war and then some, but if you [[OneHundredPercentCompletion recruit all 108 Stars of Destiny]], everyone gets a truly happy ending. Keep in mind that this is not at all easy, and neglecting to get even one of them will result in a much more {{bittersweet|Ending}}, or even downright [[DownerEnding tragic]] ending. |
| 217 | * ''Franchise/SuperMarioBros'': |
| 218 | ** Almost every mainstream ''Mario'' game ends with Mario (and/or Luigi, or any other hero) defeating Bowser and saving Princess Peach after going to blood and sweat with multiple worlds. ''VideoGame/SuperMarioBros2'' has Mario, Luigi, Peach, and Toad save Subcon from Wart's 8-Bit Club (even though it was all a dream by Mario himself), ''VideoGame/SuperMarioBros3'' and ''VideoGame/SuperMarioWorld'' has the Mario Bros. not only saving Peach, but also saving the Mushroom World and Dinosaur Land respectively, ''VideoGame/SuperMarioGalaxy'' and its [[VideoGame/SuperMarioGalaxy2 sequel]] has the Mario Bros. saving the ''universe'', and ''VideoGame/SuperMario3DWorld'' has Mario, Luigi, Peach, and Toad saving the Sprixie Princesses. ''VideoGame/SuperMarioOdyssey'' hilariously subverts this; while Mario does prevent Bowser from forcefully marrying Peach, his attempts to propose to the princess gets foiled when an overwhelmed Peach rejects '''both of them''' after a jealous Bowser fights for her affections. |
| 219 | ** For some Mario games (especially the more recent ones), this trope can be applied to the player when they get a 100% competition, especially since the post-game Bonus levels tend to be [[BrutalBonusLevel absolutely brutal]]. A good example being making it ''all the way'' to World D-4 and completing it in ''VideoGame/SuperMarioBrosTheLostLevels'' (particularly in the NES version), getting 120 stars and meeting Yoshi atop Peach's castle in ''VideoGame/SuperMario64'', and complete "The Perfect Run" in ''VideoGame/SuperMarioGalaxy2''. |
| 220 | ** ''VideoGame/SuperPaperMario'': Where do we begin? The game kicks off with Count Bleck declaring he'll end all worlds by summoning the Chaos Heart and the Void, forcing Mario to go on an unbelievable adventure (does it get much weirder than going into space, a glimpse of the world consumed by the void, and '''''the afterlife?''''') as he allies with Peach, puts aside his differences through a teeth-clenched teamwork with Bowser, and reunites with Luigi after fighting him in his brainwashed persona, twice. Then, we find out that Bleck ''and'' Tippi (the Pixl that guides you along the way) through the backstory texts are nothing more than tragic figures who fell in love with each other (as Blumiere and Timpani respectively) but their separation and Timpani's transformation into a Pixl resulting in Blumiere's descent to villainy and becoming Bleck. But then, after the heroes defeat Bleck in an epic battle, Dimentio seizes the Chaos Heart ''and'' Luigi, going OneWingedAngel with his FusionDance with them, resulting in a dramatic FinalBattle that ends in Dimentio's defeat (and freeing Luigi without killing him), but not before nearly getting the last laugh by leaving a shadow of his power to continue controlling the Chaos Heart (enough to destroy all worlds). While Timpani's and Blumiere's sacrifice is certainly tragic, they not only get back together after ''how many years apart'' but undo '''everything''' that was destroyed (or nearly destroyed) by the Void. The Post-Game has basically almost ''everyone'' getting their happy ending, prime examples being O'Chunks and Nastasia (two of Bleck's henchpeople) happily living in Flipside and Flopside respectively, Mimi (another one of Bleck's henchwomen) now being the new owner of Merlee's Mansion — this time changing it for the better, Francis being able to create Tiptron as a ReplacementGoldfish for Tippi (and ''willing'' to sell it to the heroes for 999 coins), King Croacus fully recovering from seemingly wilting after his defeat from the heroes, and Luvbi's somehow miraculous revival after she sacrifices herself to revert back to a Pure Heart. |
| 221 | * In ''VideoGame/SurvivorFire'', the house is on fire and if you lose, one or more family members might die, but if you win, everyone is saved. |
| 222 | * ''VideoGame/TalesSeries'': |
| 223 | ** ''VideoGame/TalesOfTheAbyss'': Sure, we stopped the BigBad, a lot of the main characters and secondary characters have survived, at least two party members (Jade and Guy) have come to terms with their [[DarkAndTroubledPast dark pasts]], the world has been saved, the miasma has been destroyed, and tentative peace reigns between Kimlasca and Malkuth. Too bad to get to that point, the heroes had to destroy a city (by accident); sacrifice ten thousand replicas (on purpose); fail to prevent the deaths of Frings, Ion, the Class I and Class M scientists; and kill two-thirds of the God-Generals, who are some of the most tragic [[AntiVillain anti-villains]] ever, especially in the cases of Largo and Arietta. Then, both Asch and Luke make a HeroicSacrifice in the fight to free Lorelei -- one of them is saved in the ending, but it's not specified which. On top of that, the Planet Storm has stopped, which will eventually cause fonic artes and fon machines to lose their source of power. Jade predicts that, along with the technical dark age due to the loss of fonons, it's likely that war is on the not-so-distant horizon thanks to the upheavals in the Order Of Lorelei. |
| 224 | ** ''VideoGame/TalesOfXillia2'' has this be the case for Elle in what is considered the Golden Ending. The party has gone through multiple fractured dimensions, had their hearts broken several times because of the circumstances in those dimensions, learned that Elle is from a fractured dimension and Ludger is her father, had to lose party members to balance the world again and Ludger also had to kill his dear, older brother to make it to the BigBad. Then Ludger decides to sacrifice himself as the millionth crystal, so that Elle can continue to live. Even if she is not the 'real' Prime Elle, who hasn't been born yet, even if she considers herself a fake, Ludger loves her like his family and wants her to continue to live. The final scene depicts a TimeSkip and Elle is now a teenager, you see how Jude has won the Howe Prize, the two worlds are at peace thanks to Gaius and Rowen's work, Leia is a successful reporter and even Rollo has found love and lies peacefully next to Elle with his offspring. |
| 225 | * ''VideoGame/ThiefTheDarkProject''. Almost a TropeCodifier. After going through some of the scariest and most intense scenes in shooter history, you finally have a moment to breathe [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_AdhWsObqvk&NR=1 at the end]]. Not ''all'' is well, though. |
| 226 | -->'''Garrett:''' Tell my friends that I don't need their secret book, or their glyph warnings, or their messengers. Tell them I'm through. Tell them it's over. Tell them Garrett is ''done''.\ |
| 227 | '''Artemus:''' I will tell them this: nothing is changed; all is as it was written. The Trickster is dead. Beware the dawn of [[{{Foreshadowing}} the metal age.]] |
| 228 | * In ''VideoGame/ThisWarOfMine'' it's possible, though very difficult, to survive until the army and the rebels reach a ceasefire (after about 45 days). Any of your characters who have managed to survive without [[ShootTheDog doing too many terrible things]] or needlessly killing people will get a happy ending. |
| 229 | * in ''VideoGame/ThreadsOfFate'', while Mint's story ends on a bittersweet (by Mint's story's standards anyway, as she's by far the LighterAndSofter of the two) note, Rue's story absolutely plays this trope straight; by the end of his story, it wouldn't be wrong to say the boy's been put through hell just to revive Claire... And he succeeds. |
| 230 | * The end of the ''VideoGame/TwilightSyndrome'' duology has this as the resolution of Yukari's personal story arc, where after dealing with the consequences of [[HiddenHeartOfGold bottling up her feelings]] for a long time, she finds herself irresistibly drawn to a place meant only for [[TheJourneyThroughDeath dead souls that are ready to move on to the afterlife]], where she is forced to confront her true feelings about her personal relationships as she follows after the lost little girl she and her friends had been searching for, before she reaches a dead end where the Kappa-haired girl from the first chapter reappears to say that [[ItIsNotYourTime the two of them don't belong there and instructs her on how they can return home.]] |
| 231 | * IF you want to get the best ending in ''VideoGame/{{Undertale}}'', you are going to go through hell to reach it. No killing is allowed whatsoever and if you kill even just one mook, you're screwed out of the ending unless you start over/reload your save file. Since you can't kill anyone, every fight becomes a boss fight in itself since you have to figure out a way to get enemies to stop fighting you without resorting to violence. Not only that, you'll also have to befriend several major characters so that they see you as a true friend and also endure some grueling boss fights towards the end of the game. If you persevere in the end, you'll get what is considered to be the ultimate happy ending for everyone. |
| 232 | * ''VideoGame/ValkyrieProfile'' is this trope embodied. Not only does the player have to go through [[GuideDangIt endless frustration]] to get to it, but in order to achieve the happy ending, the main character herself must become the Lord of Creation in order to remake the worlds. |
| 233 | * In ''VideoGame/Vampyr2018'', there are four distinct endings depending how you what kind of vampire you played as and how many people you killed. Playing as a [[FriendlyNeighborhoodVampire heroic vampire that never feasts on innocents]] is a lot harder than if played as an evil one, since you'd be more vulnerable than normal and unable to unlock most of your vampire powers. However, it's completely possible to beat the game this way and doing so unlocks the happiest ending, where the main protagonist lives forever with his love interest (who is also a vampire). |
| 234 | * Subverted in ''VideoGame/{{Walker}}''. The player needs to choose the arcade mode and beat all four levels to finally see the ending, but the fate of the protagonist remains unclear. |
| 235 | * ''VideoGame/TheWalkingDead'': After four seasons of hardship and losing many people close to her, Clementine's story came to an end with her and her adoptive son, Alvin Jr., finally finding a place that they can call home. |
| 236 | * The GoldenEnding of ''VideoGame/Wasteland3'', "November Reigns", is the most difficult ending to get with less than 1 percent of players having gotten it as of this writing. It requires getting oil back from the Gippers (meaning either you hold their AI hostage or sacrifice Valor) while getting a Loved reputation from both the Hundred Families (arresting Mama Cotter is a requirement) and the Marshalls, meaning one mistake and the ending is inaccessible. It does, however, lead to the most idealistic outcome with the Patriarch punished for his crimes, democracy being re-introduced, Arizona getting its much needed supplies and the Rangers expanding now that they have a presence in two areas. |
| 237 | * This is pretty standard for the ''VideoGame/WildArms'' series. Pretty much every game has the heroes go through hell emotionally and psychologically, but in the end, they overcome the obstacles and save their beleaguered world...though more often then not at a [[BittersweetEnding price]]. |
| 238 | * In the end of ''VideoGame/WolfensteinIITheNewColossus'', after years of brutal Nazi occupation, the Resistance spark a new hope in the world. Blazkowicz's body is no longer crippled and dying, so he'll live to see the eventual defeat of the Nazi regime and the resulting peace. He has avenged Caroline and Super Spesh by killing Frau Engel, ensuring the Nazi regime is headed by an ailing Adolf Hitler who will likely die in a few years without an effective successor. He has proposed to Anya and ''[[BabiesEverAfter has twins on the way]]''. And best of all the Second American Revolution is under way, and if the credits sequence is any indication, results in an utter defeat for the Nazi regime which forces them to flee into space. However, ''Videogame/WolfensteinYoungblood'' turns this into a HappyEndingOverride by establishing that even though the US is free from Nazi influence and B.J. manages to kill Hitler sometime between games the Nazis are still in power in Europe and the death of Hitler activated a DeadMansSwitch for a DoomsdayDevice wreaking havoc on the environment. |
| 239 | * The ''Burning Crusade'' expansion of ''VideoGame/WorldOfWarcraft'' definitely ended this way for the Blood Elves. After having their homeland ravaged by the Scourge, becoming addicted to magic due to the Sunwell's loss, abandoned by the Alliance and betrayed by their own Prince, they finally manage to redeem themselves and cure their addiction through the combined efforts of Velen, Lady Liadren, the Shattered Sun Offensive and, of course, the player. The fact that they managed to banish Kil'Jaeden from Azeroth was icing on the cake. |
| 240 | * While the main characters of ''VideoGame/XenobladeChronicles1'' all experienced some misfortune, Melia has had it the worst. As the child of the High Entia Emperor and a Homs in a society that harbors racism towards any non-High Entia, she outlived her mother and lost claim to the throne to her full-blooded older brother. During the events of the game, she watched her companions die protecting her shortly before meeting the main party, she learns her stepmother and [[LongLostSibling stepsister]] were plotting her death and were thus responsible for her companions' deaths, her father is killed in front of her, her entire race excluding half-High Entia such as herself are turned into mindless monsters who terrorize the world, she has to personally kill her beloved brother after he is turned into one as well, and finally, her feelings towards Shulk are left unrequited as his first love literally comes back from the dead. The epilogue paired with the ''[[UpdatedRerelease Definitive Edition]]'', ''Future Connected'', throws her a bone, however. She makes up with her stepsister, rounds up the last of the High Entia, reclaims their ancestral homeland, and takes the throne as their Empress. |
| 241 | * ''VideoGame/{{Xenogears}}''. The game starts with an unending war between two countries, and it just gets worse from there. The unbelievable [[HumansAreBastards bastardry]] of humans towards each other and the sheer power and cruelty of Deus provide a soul-crushing and emotionally draining atmosphere, where if anything good ever happens, it is because something unimaginably bad is sure to follow. Most people die horribly or are grotesquely mutated into biological parts for Deus, resulting in a [[ApocalypseHow Class 2 Apocalypse]]. The dismal nature of the game makes the ending all the more satisfying- Fei slays Deus and the Urobolus factor that binds humanity to it, and even rescues his lover of 10,000 years after many lifetimes of being StarCrossedLovers. |
| 242 | * ''VideoGame/YakuzaLikeADragon'' reveals this to be the ultimate fate of Goro Majima and Taiga Saijima. The former had to go through absolute hell to find some stability (constantly being manipulated and dragged into the yakuza life by outside forces, forced into betraying his ''kyodai'' Saejima, losing an eye, and giving up both of the women he truly loved) while the latter has spent the better part of three decades either on death row or being pursued as a fugitive (while also getting jerked around by outside forces to act in their schemes, which resulted in the death of his sister). Come ''Like A Dragon'', and they're finally back to being BashBrothers and get a clean break from the yakuza life, retiring to become private security contractors without risking getting tangled up in any more underworld politics. |
| 243 | [[/folder]] |
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